


Silver lining

by CrystalNavy



Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-05-31 23:25:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15130022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalNavy/pseuds/CrystalNavy
Summary: One change leads to many others. For some people it means acceptance. For others, it means forgiveness. And for one person, it means a new chance.





	1. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shanks gets some info.

"It's your fault." Roger was saying

His anger was palpable.

"Not only did you let me die, but you also failed to keep my child safe. My child is dead. The Marines killed him, as the newspapers clearly said."

And the battle-hardened man began to cry, withering away under Roger's gaze.

"But......" Roger's gaze softened "You can still fix this. We both know that Marines like to lie to cover their failures. My child might still be alive, and I want you to promise that you would find them and take care of them."

"I will, Roger." he raised his head "I will, Roger, I promise."

And with that, he woke up with a start. 

A nightmare. Of course it was a nightmare. Roger wouldn't be blaming him for this. It was his guilty conscience speaking. Roger had disbanded his crew, true, but since when did that matter? He knew about the search, and he didn't do anything. Well, now he will.

"Your orders, Captain?"

"Yeah. Set sail for South Blue. Specifically, the island of Baterilla. It's where Rouge lived." Shanks said offhandedly "We might get some answers there."

"It shall be done, Captain."

-x-

"I am sorry to say that Rouge isn't with us anymore." a woman shook her head sadly "She gave birth to healthy baby boy, though. The baby was taken away by Garp, a Marine. Apparently, the baby's father told Garp where to find Rouge."

"Do you know where they went?" Shanks pressed on, hiding his relief well

"Garp did mention something about Dawn Island....." the woman trailed off

And Shanks' face split into a grin. It has been a while, and he didn't mind visiting his little friend again.


	2. Three brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shanks arrives to Dawn Island, and has several awkward encounters with people.

It was nice to be home. His first destination was the bar. It was where he met Luffy, after all. He winked at Makino, who smiled

"Give me my usual, Makino." Shanks ordered, playfully "By the way, I am looking for Roger's kid. Do you know anything about them?" 

At this, Makino's whole demeanor changed completely, her eyes becoming as wide as saucers.

"Your order will be along in a couple of minutes, sir." Makino said robotically "As for your other question, I didn't know that the Pirate King had a child, and even if he had, why would that child be here? We are a peaceful village, we don't want any trouble...."

All the while, Makino's fingers were tapping on the counter and her voice was quivering. That and her whole disposition told Shanks that she knew far more that she let on.

"Makino....." he spoke gently

And Makino broke down.

"Please don't ask anymore, Shanks." Makino cried into his shirt "We all love him and he's safe here. If he goes out to the sea with you, the Marines will put two and two together and they will kill him...."

The door swung meaningfully at that moment, and a fat woman in her forties stepped in, her orange hair tied into a couple of buns.

"Hello, Dadan." Makino greeted politely

"Do you happen to know anything about Roger's child?" Shanks took a chance

Dadan froze for a couple of minutes. And then she unfroze.

Only to promptly whack Shanks over the head with a frying pan.

"Piss off." Dadan growled "He's mine."

Shanks finished his drink and left the bar, with a bruised head and a determined look in his eyes. He bumped into an elderly man with a cane.

"I am Woop Slap, the mayor of this little town." the man introduced himself "What brings you here?"

"I am looking for Roger's child." Shanks told him

"Nope." Woop Slap said "We've got no one like that 'round here."

And all the while his fingers were twitching. 

Shanks sighed. This was great. The whole town was keeping the truth from him, obviously to protect the child in question, but it was still a headache.

Then he saw him. Luffy was walking towards him, two other boys by his side. One was blonde and had a cute smile. The other was a raven-haired boy, who seemed more taciturn.

"Hello, Shanks. These are Sabo and Ace, my sworn brothers." Luffy cried excitedly "Glad to see you again."

"Luffy." Shanks was desperate "I am looking for Roger's child. Can you help me?"

"Nope." Luffy cried out cheerfully, unblinking "If there was someone like that living here, I'd be the first to know, considering I'd love to befriend the child of the former Pirate King. Right, Sabo? Right, Ace?"

"Luffy is right." Sabo grinned "If someone like that lived here, Luffy would have found out about their secret and befriended them by now."

"That's right." Ace nodded "Luffy has that effect on people. He makes people wanna be his friends one way or another."

But Shanks wasn't fooled. All three of them were clutching their weapons so tightly that their knuckles turned white. Great, so Luffy and his friends were in on the conspiracy to hide the identity of Roger's child from him too. Well, he knew one thing for sure, he mused as he watched them prance away.

He was gonna get to the bottom of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because the entire Foosha village being protective of Ace is my drug.


	3. The meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The villagers and a couple of children debate what to do.

The sign in front of Party Bar read 'closed'.

However, it was anything but.

Luffy, Ace and Sabo were seated on taller chairs near the counter, while the rest of the tables were occupied by Foosha village residents and bandits.

"I don't see why we can't tell Shanks." Luffy pouted "Shanks is a good person."

"He is." Makino agreed

"But if the Marines saw him and Ace together, they would put two and two together and they will send their strongest men to kill Ace." Woop Slap finished for her

"That's why he can't know, Luffy." Sabo was uncharacteristically serious

He slid a glass of drink in front of Ace, who took the glass up and drank from it gratefully.

"Feeling better?" Sabo gave his brother a concerned look

"Yeah, enough to forget that I am related to that man." Ace assured, before muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'demon spawn'.

Sabo's eyes narrowed.

"Luffy, I think it's better if you Ace took a nap in the back room."

"But....." Ace tried to protest

"Now." Sabo insisted, all but shoving Ace and Luffy through the door "And don't come back until you get those disgusting thoughts out of your head."

Having accomplished his task, Sabo closed the door and locked it from the outside.

"Why does he hate himself so much?" Sabo's eyes almost watered

"He was told that he shouldn't exist every day." Makino lifted Sabo up onto her lap, gently stroking his hair "That would mess anyone up."

"Nonetheless, our firecracker is a fighter." Woop Slap spoke with a hint of pride in his voice "Just like me when I was young. And this body can still fight, ha!"

With that, Woop Slap punched the air twice for emphasis

"Firecracker will make a fine Marine." Woop Slap concluded

"Nah, we'll be Pirates." Sabo grinned at him cheekily

"I thought Garp beat that silly notion out of you by now." Woop Slap frowned "Guess it's time I started helping."

He whacked Sabo over the head with his cane.

"Ace and Luffy are sons of most hated men in the world." Sabo pointed out "If they joined the Marines, they would be executed in a flash because of it, Marines or not."

"Hm, guess you're right." Woop Slap deflated visibly

"Now, if no one has any objections, let's carry on with the meeting."

And so they did.

-x-

Ace lay down on the bed, with Luffy's head resting on his chest. He was deep in thought.

People's laughter rang in his head, constantly reminding him of the bitter truth. Truth that he wished to forget.

Why did he have to be the bearer of evil blood, the one most hated by the world?

"Don't worry." Luffy murmured sleepily "I shall never abandon you, no matter what anyone else thinks."

And he felt strangely comforted. 

The weight on his chest disappeared as Luffy sat up.

"But I think we should tell Shanks." Luffy suggested "It'll be easier on you if you share some of your burden with someone else."

"All right." Ace could see that Luffy was - once again - right "We'll tell him."

He had the uncanny ability to be silly at one moment, only to be suprisingly insightful in the next.

Ace was the first to climb down through the open window. He proceeded to help Luffy climb down as well. Then they set their minds onto finding their quarry.

-x-

Shanks had given up.

None of the village children matched the right age.

He walked through the village aimlessly, when he spotted a white sheet of paper attached to one of the trees. He caught a flurry of movements with the corner of his eye. He plucked the note from the tree.

"What would you say or do if the Pirate King had a child? Signed, Luffy." Shanks read

Shanks nodded to himself. So he was right on the money.

"You can come out now." Shanks called

Luffy and his raven-haired brother stepped out from behind a large tree that the note was attached to.

"Answer the question." Luffy demanded, his arms crossed "If I don't like the answer, we won't tell anything."

"Who is your friend?" Shanks asked instead

"He is Ace, and he isn't my friend, he's my brother!" Luffy stated proudly

"As for your answer, I am honestly not sure." Shanks tapped his chin thoughtfully "But I am positive that I won't hate them or anything. I actually came here to protect them on Roger's behalf."

Both Ace and Luffy's expression softened upon hearing this.

"Can we talk somewhere private?" Luffy grinned, casting a cursory glance at Ace, who nodded

They took Shanks to the mountains and lead him to a lone treehouse. All three of them climbed into it easily.

"We......" Luffy began "We know who Roger's child is. We brought you here to tell you."

"So......who is it?"

And they told him.

"So......what do you say?" Luffy stared at him

"Well, I can't say I am suprised." Shanks admitted "Now that I know, I would like to propose something. If you'd like, I can take all three of you with me."

"We have to ask Sabo." Ace said

"But we'll probably say yes." Luffy added

"Glad to hear that." Shanks smiled "Oh, and......"

"Yes?"

"Don't believe what random people say about Roger or his son." Shanks "They hardly know either, so it's not their judgment to make."


End file.
